Credential Data Standard

Intended Audience and Contact Information

Contact	Chief Data Officer, Office of the CIO
Intended audience:	Internal UBC
UDM Domain	Academic
Applicability	Credit, Non-Credit
Data Standard ID	DS0051

Change Log

Standard Version Date	Change Log
2024-05-12	Addition of Non-Credit Credentials to the standard, specifically: Addition of Applicability column in Credential Attributes section. Update to Credential Type and Credential Sub-type sections to include Non-Credit Credentials. Addition of Credential Code [Non-Credit] section, Update to Credential Description Standard section to include Non-Credit Credentials.
2022-12-12	Mapping of Invalid values From Systems(s) of Record (SoR) to Common Services sub-section of Compliance section added
2021-11-01	Data Standard published

Definition

A Credential conveys UBC's recognition that a program has been successfully completed.

Purpose

This standard aims to achieve consistency around the data collected for a Credential, and the format in which it is collected and stored.

This standard applies to all applications collecting credentials associated with programs of study. Exceptions are listed in the Dispensation section.

Standard

Credential Attributes

The following are the data elements and accepted values associated with creating a Credential:

Data Element	Definition	Applicability	Format
Credential Type	A classification of an academic-credit or non-credit Credential.	Credit Non-Credit	Reference List See Credential Type section for accepted values.
Credential Sub-type	Further classification within a Credential Type.	Credit Non-Credit	Reference List See Credential Sub-type section for accepted values.
Credential Code	A unique identifier for a Credential. Example: BA	Credit Non-Credit	Credit: Uppercase Alpha characters ONLY Non-Credit: See Credential Code [Non-Credit] section for accepted values.
Credential Short Name a.k.a. Credential Name	A Senate-approved abbreviated representation of an earned Credential. Example: B.A.	Credit	See Credential Short Name Standard section for accepted prefix and data entry standard.
Credential Description	The Senate-approved title of a Credential that can be used on transcripts and for other purposes. Example: Bachelor of Arts	Credit Non-Credit	See Credential Short Name Standard section for accepted prefix and data entry standard.
Credential Usage a.k.a. Educational Credential Usage	Specifies when the credential is internal or external to UBC.	Credit	Reference List See Credential Usage section for accepted values.

Credential Type

The following are the accepted values for a Credential:

Credential Type	Definition
Academic-Credit
Academic-Credit Certificate Credential	Recognition of successful completion of an Academic-Credit Certificate program of study.
Diploma Credential	Recognition of successful completion of a Diploma program of study.
Degree Credential	Recognition of successful completion of a Degree program of study.
Non-Credit¹
Non-Credit Certificate	Recognition of successful completion of a Non-Credit Certificate program of study.
Non-Credit Letter	Recognition of successful completion of a Non-Credit Letter program of study.

¹Non-Credit Credentials offered prior to the implementation of Senate Policies V-129 and O-129 are not represented in this standard due to their expansiveness and complexity to retroactively categorize.

Credential Sub-Type

Academic-Credit Certificate Sub-type

The following are the accepted values for an Academic-Credit Certificate sub-type:

Academic-Credit Certificate Type Name	Definition
Undergraduate Certificate	An Academic-Credit Certificate Credential that typically requires program completion of 15 undergraduate (100-400) level credits, but may consist of 9 to 21 credits with sound academic rationale.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate	An Academic-Credit Certificate Credential that typically requires program completion of 15 upper-division (300-400) level credits, but may consist of 9 to 21 credits with sound academic rationale.
Graduate Certificate	An Academic-Credit Certificate Credential that typically requires program completion of 9 to 15 graduate-level credits.
Post-Graduate Certificate	An Academic-Credit Certificate Credential that typically requires program completion of 9 to 15 graduate-level credits after successful completion of a graduate program of study.

Diploma Sub-type

The following are the accepted values for a Diploma sub-type:

Diploma Type Name	Definition
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma	An Academic-Credit Diploma Credential that typically requires program completion of 30 to 60 upper-division (300-400) level credits.
Graduate Diploma	An Academic-Credit Diploma Credential that typically requires program completion of 30 to 60 graduate-level credits, and may be combined with a Master or Doctoral degree to create Dual Credential programs.
Post-graduate Diploma	An Academic-Credit Diploma Credential that typically requires program completion of 30 to 60 graduate-level credits.

Degree Sub-type

The following are the accepted values for a Degree sub-type:

Degree Type Name	Definition
Undergraduate Degree	An undergraduate level Degree Credential for a program of study recognized by the Province of British Columbia, that typically takes 4 years to complete if no prior study is required.
Master Degree	A graduate level Degree Credential for a program of study recognized by the Province of British Columbia that is either research or professionally based, and usually follows an Undergraduate Degree.
Doctoral Degree	A graduate level Degree Credential for a program of study that is the highest level of academic achievement recognized by the Province of British Columbia, which involves completion of oral and written exams, and original research presented in a dissertation.

Non-Credit Certificate Sub-type

The following are the accepted values for a Non-Credit Certificate sub-type:

Non-Credit Certificate Name	Definition
Non-Credit Certificate	Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a non-credit learning opportunity comprising 150 hours or more of learning activities and is assessed to a proficiency standard.
Non-Credit Micro-Certificate	UBCV Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a non-credit learning opportunity comprising 50-150 hours of learning activities and is assessed to a proficiency standard.

Non-Credit Letter Sub-type

The following are the accepted values for a Non-Credit Letter sub-type:

Non-Credit Letter Name	Definition
Letter of Participation¹	UBCV Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a short duration² non-credit learning opportunity that limits assessment to verification of learner presence.
Letter of Attendance	UBCO Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a short duration² non-credit learning opportunity that limits assessment to verification of learner presence.
Letter of Completion¹	Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a short duration² non-credit learning opportunity that provides verification of learner presence and that learner has completed all assigned tasks.
Letter of Proficiency¹	Senate-defined credential recognizing the successful completion of a short duration² non-credit learning activity that provides verification of learners’ presence and that the learner has achieved an acceptable level of performance in completing all tasks assigned to indicate proficiency or competency.

¹The Vancouver Senate (V-129) approved names for Letter credentials include the prefix of 'Non-Credit'.
² UBCV letters comprise of less than 50 hours of learning activities; UBCO letters comprise of less than 150 hours of learning activities.

Credential Code [Non-Credit]

The following are the accepted codes for Non-Credit credentials:

Credential Name	Code
Non-Credit Certificate	NCC
Non-Credit Micro-Certificate	NCM
Letter of Participation (UBCV)	LPA
Letter of Attendance (UBCO)	LAT
Letter of Completion	LCO
Letter of Proficiency	LPR
Non-Credit Achievement	NCA

Credential Short Name Standard [Credit]

Credential Associated With:	Accepted Abbreviation	Data Entry Standard
Bachelor	B.	Start the credential name with the standard prefix as shown on the table. Periods must be used in credential abbreviations to separate each value. There are some exceptions, such as the Master of Laws which is abbreviated as LL.M. where LL. is the genitive plural of legum. When the subject area is used in the credential, one space will follow the final period, before the brackets; e.g., B.Sc. (Dietetics). Uppercase letters are used as the first letter in an abbreviation. Any remaining letters used in the credential abbreviation before the next period are lower case e.g. B. Kin. Any abbreviation must end with a period. Subject areas currently included in credential abbreviations will be in brackets and fully spelled out.
Master	M.
Doctoral	Ph.D. or D.
Diploma	Dipl.
Certificate	Cert.
Certificate	G. Cert.

Credential Description Standard

Credential Associated With:	Accepted Prefix	Data Entry Standard
Bachelor	Bachelor of …	Start the credential description with the standard prefix as shown on the table. Enter the credential description and subject (if applicable) in full. Special characters other than language-specific characters are not allowed unless approved as part of the credential name by the Senate.
Master	Master of …
Doctoral	Doctor of Philosophy, or Doctor of …
Diploma	Diploma in … Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in … Post-Graduate Diploma in … Graduate Diploma in …
Academic-Credit Certificate	Certificate in … Post Baccalaureate Certificate in … Post Graduate Certificate in … Graduate Certificate in …
Non-Credit Certificate	Non-Credit Certificate in…
Non-Credit Micro-Certificate	Non-Credit Micro-Certificate in…
Letters (UBCV)	Non-Credit Letter of Participation in … Non-Credit Letter of Completion in… Non-Credit Letter of Proficiency in…
Letters (UBCO)	Letter of Attendance in… Letter of Completion in… Letter of Proficiency in…

Credential Usage [Credit]

The following are the accepted values for Credential Usage:

Credential Usage	Definition
Internal Credential	A Credential that UBC confers.
External Credential	A Credential that an external educational institution confers.

Compliance

The above standard for credentials must be complied at every stage of the data lifecycle with the exception of any dispensations (see Dispensation section).

All applications must collect data as recommended in this standard.
Enterprise Data Integration must adopt this standard.

Reference Data Compliance for Data Integration

The use of accepted reference data values in this standard for data integration among applications must comply with the enterprise integration pattern of leveraging the reference data common service API (Application Programming Interface) published in UBC MuleSoft Exchange.

Any application that intends to access real-time, case-level reference data should have the application owner or manager complete and submit a Request API Access form.

Mapping of invalid values from Systems of Record (SOR) to common service

A common service can only accommodate standard reference data enumerations that are available in the SoR as approved by the Data Governance Steering Committee or Data Trustee.

A reference data value that does not match any of the standard reference data value enumerations is considered ‘invalid’. Any records from a SoR containing an invalid reference data value for a given data element or attribute must be mapped as an 'empty' value in common service(s). Where a reference data value may potentially have the same meaning as a standard enumeration but named differently in the system of record can be corrected to match the appropriate standard enumeration. Please consult with the EDG team in such cases.

Additional Reference Data values in a SoR that are not part of the standard reference data enumerations are to be omitted in the common service.

Dispensation

Legacy systems are exempt from this data standard. As systems are replaced, adoption of this standard is required. Examples of legacy systems are:

Student Information System (SIS)

For any compliance questions or requests for a temporary dispensation, please contact the Enterprise Data Governance Team.